From Flow to Stillness: Back to OM

   

From Flow to Stillness: Back to OM

With the saṅkalpa of discovering the Absolute Truth, a lone bird set out toward the East, crossing oceans and uncertainties, brushing past the shadows of war, death, and disease. Its outward journey began near the Golden Gate Bridge and came to rest by the gentle suspension of Janaki Jhula, at the sacred grounds of Arsha Vidya Pitham in Rishikesh.

Words tremble in the presence of Ganga. They hesitate, as though aware of their own inadequacy. Her brilliance is not merely seen but felt. The mind, restless by habit, finds stillness upon her banks.

Seekers gather here like constellations in motion. Yogis hold silence in their postures. Devotees offer songs with arati that echoes into the sky. Some whisper prayers with flowers and diyas, while others attempt to capture eternity through the fleeting eye of a camera. 

Some sit quietly at her edge. Some step into her waters and shiver, as if awakening from a long dream.

And through it all, Ganga flows, fierce yet compassionate, carrying away the unseen weight of countless pasts.

The day begins before dawn.

At 4:45 AM, the body awakens. The rhythm of Sūrya Namaskāra stirs the limbs, as the electric geyser warms the water in the background. The simple act of a bucket bath becomes abhiṣekam, a reminder that this body is not the self, but a vessel for knowledge.

By 5:30 AM, the senses are gently kindled at the temple of Gangadeeshwar Temple. The chanting of Śrī Rudram dissolves the sense of isolation. What once felt like a single tree is now known as part of a vast forest. In sarvātma bhāva, the distance between oneself and the Divine quietly disappears.

After the rituals, silence deepens at Swami Dayananda Adhishtanam, where communication with the Guru happens beyond words. From there, the feet descend toward the Ganga ghats, where arghyam is offered to the rising Sun.

Cold water touches the skin. A gentle splash. And with it, the tight knots of rāga and dveṣa begin to loosen.

At 6:30 AM, the *Kaṭhopaniṣad* unfolds under the guidance of Swami Sakshatkrutananda. As the teacher takes his seat and closes his eyes, the mind follows. Thoughts dissolve effortlessly, like a puppy settling at its master’s command.

The śānti mantras sharpen attention into a single flame.

Through the chariot metaphor, the structure of life becomes clear: the body as the chariot, the senses as horses, the mind as reins, and the intellect as the charioteer. The journey turns inward.

From sense objects to senses,

From senses to mind,

From mind to intellect,

From the individual intellect to the total,

And finally, to the subtlest presence—Ātman.

Here, there is nowhere to go.

Nothing to become.

“I am that Puruṣa, cin-mātra-ghana—a fullness of pure consciousness.”

Days pass, yet time feels strangely absent.

After breakfast, contemplation deepens under Swamini Svatmavidyanandaji, where meditation gently transforms knowledge into lived clarity. What was heard becomes understood; what was understood begins to settle into being.

Swaminiji classes on the sixth chapter of the Chandogya Upanishad unfold with a rare blend of precision and playfulness. The theme—Āchāryavān Puruṣo Veda—echoes throughout: one who has a teacher truly knows.

Each day is full.

Four classes across two Upaniṣads,

A chanting session,

A satsang.

With no distractions, no endless wifi, the mind receives only śāstra. And so, it reflects only śāstra. 

Witnessing the auspicious sannyāsa dīkṣā quietly revealed the depth and glory of renunciation.

Afternoons belong to Ganga.

Under the warm sun, immersion becomes a celebration. Laughter mingles with prayer. The sacred is mischievously energetic. Walks to Ram Jhula and Lakshman Jhula stretch into conversations, into silence, into shared moments with fellow seekers. 

The eight-day retreat at Arsha Vidya Pitham becomes a quiet churning of the inner ocean. Like the ancient 'Samudra Manthana', here too the immortal nectar, the absolute truth is revealed.

The wanderlust traveler, once distant from oneself, was brought back to 'OM', the new home.

The Guru removes the ignorance, The blindfold of misplaced priorities falls.

The forest of saṁsāra clears, the complaining self no longer complains, the doubting self no longer doubts, the bound self no longer feels bound.

Knowledge dawns—here and now.

Freedom is understood—here and now.

The whole world dances on the tongue,

The word and the meaning.

The clay and the pot,

The gold and the Chain, 

The cause and the effect.

I am the mother of all beings.

I transcend all.

I cannot say I know.

I cannot say I do not know. 

Those who know, …. know.

Om Tat Sat.